Mechanized joystick built to control iPhone tilt sensor, rack up high score

What do you do when you just can't get that high score you're looking for in Tilt to Live? You build a computer that's better at playing the game than you are. For Shane Wighton, that turned out to be a mechanized joystick for tilt-controlled iPhone games.

When Shane couldn't achieve the score wanted on Tilt to Live, he asked himself, "[Can] I program a computer to detect patterns in the enemies, be strategic, and make the best moves using its superior reaction time and raw processing power?"

As part of answering that question Shane's made the above illustration a reality by building a mechanized joystick with an Arduino, some servo motors and metal. The next phase is for Shane to mount the webcam, write the code that will actually play the game for him and, hopefully, rack in some damage on the score board.

Check out the video after the break to see the beast in action.

Shane, we're looking forward to seeing how this works out for you. From all of us here at TUAW, we wish you the best of luck. Go get 'em!

[Via Joystiq, TouchArcade]
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